Dongfanghong brand tractors, produced by YTO Group Corp, a subsidiary of China National Machinery Industry Corp, roll off the assembly line at a plant in Luoyang, Henan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's largest external contract engineering service provider in the machinery industry is stepping up its efforts at exploring further business opportunities and high technology, reports Ding Qingfen

Xu Niansha submitted a simple but highly focused proposal in March as a new member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body.

He said the central government should help and support State-owned enterprises buy high technology from abroad.

A look at what Xu and his company, China National Machinery Industry Corp (Sinomach), is all about shows that his proposal is more than reasonable.

During the past two years, Xu, vice-chairman of Sinomach, has traveled abroad more often - not for leisure or to inspect contract engineering projects but to seek possible energy and high-tech investment deals.

"We are looking especially at European countries, like Germany, France and Italy. In the past, our counterparts in these countries were unwilling to cooperate with us, but now things are different while the European Union debt crisis continues, as some cannot even survive," he said.

With many peers in developed countries on the brink of bankruptcy and struggling to raise capital, Sinomach, China's largest machinery manufacturing company, is diversifying its business and looking at companies in the high-tech sector, in particular, in an attempt to improve technology and enhance its industrial competitiveness in the global market.